New Phone Time

[IVIYTH0S]

Hmmm a few Xeperia Z2 on sale for $400-450. They have the same specs as Z3 and recent software update gave it PS4 remote play, hi res audio, and etc.

 

http://m.ebay.com/itm/301384356659?_mwBanner=1

One of the better choices due to having the microSD capability however..

 

I'd say go Note 3. Note 4 is not a stellar improvement over it, probably won't notice a difference in screen resolution given the screen size except for that it drains battery faster... I've had my Note 3 for a year now and i am very happy with it. Never rooted it and still getting a full day of Pandora listening + some facebook time out of it on a stock battery... Never used stylus really... Other than that, removable battery + removable storage is a big plus.

 

I have a Euro version of Note 3 which doesn't support 4G LTE here in US, so not sure how it fares with 4G LTE awlays on.

...This guy has good points too and he echoes my concerns with not having a removable battery

[WhenKittensATK]

Ended up buying the White Xperia Z2. I think I have an unused SD card somewhere until there is a sale for a 128gb. Waiting till next year for Android L is gonna suck, but I'll have my camera, music, and remote play.

 

I usually carry my Patriot Fuel+ so battery isn't much of an issue.

Edited November 14, 2014 by AZNguyen

[IVIYTH0S]

Good choice, don't let them take our microSD slots away! +1 for Sony for not taking it away from Z2

[Gremlin]

Good phone, but once you root  or if you do, you loose some of the features of the camera capabilities. With PS3 or their other blue ray players, they have DRM crap hopefully phone does not follow suit.. 

[WhenKittensATK]

Don't think I'll need to root it. Trying to find a case that doesn't block the magnetic charger. Found a knock off charger for $10.

Edited November 14, 2014 by AZNguyen

[IVIYTH0S]

Good phone, but once you root  or if you do, you loose some of the features of the camera capabilities. With PS3 or their other blue ray players, they have DRM crap hopefully phone does not follow suit.. 

Well that's shitty, just when I start praise a Sony product, knew there'd be some fine print screwing they were baking in there.

[GaiusMaxwell]

I don't know what experience people have with Samsung to say there is too much bloat. Like on the S2 or something?

I've been selling phones for just about 4 years now and Samsung have come a long way, there's almost no bloatware at all on the S5, the only thing that could be classified as bloatware on the Note 4 are apps that are actually made to be used with the S-pen. Touchwiz isn't anywhere near as bad as it used to be, and I'd struggle to choose another companies launcher over it, except maybe LG. HTCs Sense UI is disgusting, Sony are the biggest bloatware culprits from my experience, and I don't even want to talk about Huawei. Of course clean Android is probably the best, it isn't hard to get to that on any device though.

The Samsung Note 4 is by far the best phone on the market at the moment and I couldn't recommend anything over it unless you wanted something niche like waterproofing.

I will comment on the choices you listed however, though I think you are avoiding easily the best choices at the moment just because of the mythical Samsung bloatware.

Oneplus don't sell phones in Australia so I will unfortunately not be able to comment on those 2 phones.

The Moto X is a great phone, though a little outclassed. The advantages are obviously a clean android install and the device is incredibly robust. Looks great and Motorola love long battery lives.
You miss out on expandable memory, and a lot of it's components under-perform compared to the competition in the same price range.

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact would be my choice out of your list. The camera is amazing, battery life is tops, it is fairly robust and the waterproofing is great. Pricing is good too, it really gives the iPhone 6 a run for it's money (if sheep weren't sheep that is) in the "small smartphone" category.
The screen does leave a bit to be desired compared to the competition but apart from the iPhone 6 it probably has the best LCD on the market, being 720p shouldn't be too noticeable on that screen size. The biggest problem for me though, after having owned an Xperia Z1 and Z2, Sony are the absolute worst for bloatware, their launcher is only slightly above HTCs, my Z1 was laggy as hell despite having the same quad core processor as the competition at the time. We'll be getting the Z3 and Z3 compact in my store to be put on demo this week so I'll have a better idea if they have improved on that then.

I'd still take a Samsung Note 4/Edge, S5, or LG G3 (in that order) over pretty much anything on the market at the moment (in Australia at least). Those Koreans are smashing it at the moment.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Whatislove

[WhenKittensATK]

When I refer to bloat, I'm speaking more about the UI on Samsung phones. I guess it's called TouchWiz. My brother has the S2 and S5. Picked up both for briefly 20 seconds to look around and there was this sense of instant revulsion. To each his own. Spec wise they are fine. My first smartphone was a Nexus 4 and my favorite tablet is a Nexus 7, so I'm a fan of the stock Android look. While as others mentioned you can install a custom rom, but there is still the high price of off-contract.

 

Speaking of PS4 Remote Play, someone ported it to all Android devices. However with some research, you due lose some camera functionality and DRM keys if you root the Xperia Z2. I don't think it'll come to that, if it does I rather sell it and buy another phone.

Edited November 15, 2014 by AZNguyen

[dr_bowtie]

wasnt a big fan of touchwiz on the S3 either.... I just use Nova launcher on everything works much better.

[IVIYTH0S]

wasnt a big fan of touchwiz on the S3 either.... I just use Nova launcher on everything works much better.

Psshhh, Apex Launcher ftw! (Samsung Stratosphere II)

[WhenKittensATK]

I almost want to try to buy a OPO tomorrow just to try it out too haha. I probably shouldn't 

[WhenKittensATK]

Got the phone yesterday and so far it's pretty good. I'll have to throw a case on it feels a little slippery. SD, case, and magnetic charger gonna add to the expense.